The importance of Savings and Credit Cooperatives (SACCOs) cannot be underestimated. Despite their importance, they are faced with numerous challenges among them financial distress which threatens their very existence. The current research sought to establish the role of board characteristics in the financial distress suffered by Deposit Taking SACCOs in Nairobi County. The study is anchored inter alia on Agency Theory. Descriptive research design was adopted while Nairobi County was purposively chosen and a census was carried out on deposit taking SACCOs in the county. Secondary data was collected from SASRA using a data collection sheet and a panel data analysis performed using STATA software. The findings were presented using tables. The study concluded that there was a relationship between board characteristics and financial distress of Deposit Taking SACCOs where board composition, board education and board tenure have statistically significant and negative influence on financial distress. In conclusion SACCOs need to have lean boards, Board composition should also be improved by including more women on boards, there should be more inclusion of members with high and relevant education credentials, and SACCOs should have term limits for their members while an analysis too based on the Altman’s Z score models should be adopted for SACCOs. Another research may be carried out to establish other factors causing financial distress and how to turn around the SACCOs already in distress.

The upper Echelons Theory reiterates the importance of top management in an organization and recognizes that the mangers make decisions that grow the entity. Before the establishment of this theory, the premise was that larger firms which drive high amounts of income, are capable of running themselves without failure. Although Organizations that command large amounts of income are deemed to be successful the upper echelons theory holds that these entities cannot be successful without proper management and guidance by top management where the board of directors in this case is considered as top management organ for SACCOs. Savings and Credit Cooperatives (SACCOs) have evolved over time from mobilizing savings and granting loans to become established entities that provide banking services to their customers. They require good governance to avoid the experience of financial distress. The current research was therefore aimed at establishing the influence of firm revenue on the relationship between board characteristics and financial distress of deposit taking SACCOs in Nairobi County. Large entities command more revenue as compared to small firms. Board Characteristics is of importance to this study because it influences Corporate Governance which according to previous research has shown that the practice helps revolutionize performance of various institutions. The study is guided by upper echelons theory which reiterates the importance of top management. Descriptive research design was adopted while Nairobi County was purposively chosen and a census was carried out on deposit taking SACCOs in the county. Secondary data was collected from SASRA using a data collection sheet and a panel data analysis performed using STATA software and findings were presented using tables. The study concluded that firm revenue does not mediate the relationship between board characteristics and financial distress of Deposit Taking SACCOs. Though firm revenue should be enhanced, governance should be improved since it remains a critical success factor in alleviation of financial distress.

Purpose: Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) significantly contribute to both social and economic development of people largely through their roles in job and innovation creation, and revenue generation. Majority of SMEs are undercapitalized due to inaccessibility of credit facilities. This adversely influence their capacity to invest in productive ventures and realize their corporate goals. Factors that influence SMEs’ access to credit are not well known. Thus, the current study sought to establish the influence of collateral availability on access to credit by SMEs in Meru County. Methodology: The study was guided by the theory of information asymmetry and the pecking order theory. The study was based on the descriptive survey design. The study targeted 204,810 SMEs in Meru County of which 384 SME owners were sampled using stratified sampling. Quantitative data was analyzed using both inferential and descriptive statistics.Qualitative data was analysed thematically. Findings: The study found that majority of SMEs in Meru County are able to access credit from SACCOs but not from MFIs and Banks without necessarily having to provide collateral since guarantors’ savings act as security for the loans. Recommendations: The study recommend that SMEs should ensure that they do not have negative listing by CRB to increase their chances of accessing credit. The study also recommend SMEs owners to acquire training on how to prepare and maintain proper financial statements.

Financial distress in SACCOs can be attributed to internal controls instituted by the board by the board of directors. While SACCOs are deemed to be stable and well governed by a board of directors who are accountable to SASRA for all internal controls of a firm, at times the controls put in place have not detected and or prevented fraudulent activities from taking place hence causing financial distress in SACCOs. This study was designed to evaluate internal controls instituted by the SACCOs and the relationship between internal controls and financial distress of SACCOs in Kenya. Descriptive research design as employed on sample size of 46 SACCOs based in Nairobi as a cluster sample within a population of 176 SACCOs registered by sasra. Purposive sampling was used within the cluster to select the chief executive officer, the accountant and the internal auditor of each SACCO. Questionnaires were employed to collect primary data which was analyzed by descriptive statistics to establish means and standard deviations in variables. A regression model was used to establish the relationship between variables and to provide description of the data and to explain the achievement of the study. The study established a mutual effect of internal controls and financial distress of SACCOs in Kenya. The study thereby recommends that the government through SASRA should ensure that committee reports are properly implemented; there should be a follow up to check on the extent of implementation of the audit subcommittee reports as this will help to safeguard members' funds.

Related party transactions are a key factor to the sustainability of Savings and Credit Cooperatives (SACCOs). In view of this fact, loans to directors and staff are viewed as a factor which can greatly influence savings and credit cooperatives into either falling into financial distress or helping them to remain a float and become financially stable entities. The stakeholder theory holds that entities should be managed a manner that will satisfy every stakeholder. The stewardship theory reiterates that managers have the organisation at heart and can it to profitability as if it were their own. However approval of loans and other transactions to managers and staff, may not positively impact the entity. This study was designed to establish the effect of related party transactions on the relationship between board characteristics and financial distress of deposit taking SACCOs in Nairobi County. We applied Descriptive research design on Deposit taking SACCOs in Nairobi County which was identified purposively while a census was conceded for all deposit taking SACCOs in the county. We obtained secondary data from SASRA using a data collection sheet after which we performed panel data analysis by use of STATA software. Findings were presented using tables. The study concluded that related party transactions influenced the relationship between board characteristics and financial distress of Deposit Taking SACCOs in Nairobi County. Related party transactions can be an avenue of causing financial distress and should be kept as low as possible. The regulator should come up with a tool based on Altman’s Z score models to predict financial distress in SACCOs in order to offer timely advice to alleviate more distress and consequent bankruptcy which may lead to closure of SACCOs. Another research may be carried out to establish other factors causing financial distress and how to turn around the SACCOs already in distress.